Visakhapatnam: Low-lying transformer costs boy his right hand

The victim, identified as K. Mahendra, Class II student, was playing near the compound wall in his apartment complex when the incident took place.

Following the incident, he was shifted to the hospital almost immediately and the doctors had to amputate one of his fingers. (Representional Image)

Visakhapatnam: An eight-year-old boy lost his middle finger on his right hand after reportedly touching a transformer that was lying low. The incident, which took place on April 11, came to light on Wednesday after the doctors who performed plastic surgery on his hand declared that he wouldn’t be able to use his remaining fingers either. He is presently being treated in the burns ward of King George Hospital.

The victim, identified as K. Mahendra, Class II student, was playing near the compound wall in his apartment complex when the incident took place. His parents heard a loud explosion following which they rushed outside only to find their son lying injured on the ground. It was a transformer in the compound which had exploded, but it has not been found yet if the boy touched the transformer or if it exploded on its own.

Following the incident, he was shifted to the hospital almost immediately and the doctors had to amputate one of his fingers. He was then administered complete treatment in the burns ward. According to his mother K. Gowramma, the doctors said that he wouldn’t be able to use his fingers anymore. He suffered severe injuries on one hand and one leg.

APEPDCL officials claimed that the apartment builder had been warned several times about raising the height of the transformer. Town Kotha Road assistant engineer V. Subramanyam said, “It was previously at five feet above the ground, as per the established guidelines. However, the builder eventually raised the floor height and turned a deaf ear to our appeals about raising the height of the transformer. He left it at 1 foot above the ground and didn’t bother laying fencing around it, either.”

Mahendra’s mother said, “We have filed a complaint with the police but no action has been taken as of now.”

Despite our several attempts, we have received no response from the Police Inspector of One town police station.